Telephone Number Policy

Any advert appearing in the Yell Insurance Directory will not have to have to contain telephone numbers. Where telephone numbers are included they should be legible and comply with ICSTIS guidelines, where appropriate.

ICSTIS are The Independent Committee for the Supervision of Standards of Telephone Information Services. For more information about their guidelines please refer to their web site www.icstis.org.uk

Yell does not accept the advertising of any Telephone service that ICSTIS determines to be of an adult nature - including, without limitation, telephone services accessed through telephone numbers prefixed 0908 and 0909.

Customers should, notwithstanding any changes Yell makes to its content policies, still comply with any statutory and regulatory requirements for the inclusion of a telephone number in their advertisement.

Classification of Advertisements

All advertisements (other than related advertorial, and sponsorship) must be primarily related to Insurance.

Advertorial and Sponsorship packages

Requests for advertising in the non classified sections, including advertorial and sponsorship, will be considered by Yell on a case by case basis. Yell will take into account the potential likelihood of any confusion such advertising would generate among its user.

General Policy

ADVERTISEMENTS SHOULD CONTAIN NOTHING THAT IS IN BREACH OF THE LAW, NOR OMIT ANYTHING THAT THE LAW REQUIRES. Yell retains in its sole discretion the right not to publish any advertisement it believes falls outside the requirements of this policy.

The following directly affects Yell as a publisher and information provider in the first instance and the provisions must therefore be rigidly adhered to.

Financial Services and Markets Act 2000

Applications

Any advertisement from investment businesses, i.e. those dealing in, arranging or managing investments, providing investment advice and establishing collective investment schemes.

Compulsory Requirements

Any person, including advertising agencies acting for a client, who advertises under a restricted classification or who advertises investment business under any classification must confirm that the advertisement and its content is approved by an authorised person within the meaning of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Exemptions

1. Central and Local Government
2. Bank of England
3. Lloyds Underwriters
4. Recognised investment exchanges
5. "Image" advertisements, i.e. advertisements that are purely promoting a company image rather than the services they offer
6. Free entries and bold entries

Copyright, Trade Marks and Word Marks

1. Copyright is the right to stop others from copying an original artistic or literary work without the creator's permission. Copyright exists to protect the results of a person's creative effort and arises automatically.
2. Trade Marks can be registered or unregistered. They are badges of origin applied to goods to advise people who made them. A trademark may consist of words, including personal names, logos, designs, letters, numbers or the shape of goods or their packaging.
3. Both copyright and trade mark protection give the owner an exclusive, legal right to prevent unauthorised use of the copyright work or registered trade mark (in the case of a registered trade mark, this right is generally confined to use on identical or similar goods and services for which the mark has been registered) or, conversely, to permit use by issuing a licence.

To avoid copyright or trade mark infringement, customers must ensure that they:

1. Do not use cuttings or illustrations taken from a magazine or other publication.
2. Do not use art work references or photographs where the source is unknown.

By signing the order form, customers are confirming that they are authorised to use any trade mark, logo or other artwork within their proposed advertisement.

Decent

General Policy

ANY ADVERTISEMENT THAT CONTAINS MATTER THAT IS LIKELY TO CAUSE GRAVE OR WIDESPREAD OFFENCE OR EMBARRASSMENT IS NOT SUITABLE FOR PUBLICATION OR BROADCAST.

1. Full frontal nudity is not acceptable although other illustrations such as silhouettes, profiles and back views will be acceptable in the appropriate context.
2. Advertisements that discriminate between sexes, races, disability, age or religion are not permitted.
3. Advertisements that publicise, promote or imply the provision of sexual services, aids or literature are not permitted. However, advertisements of a medical nature such as fertility treatments are acceptable.

Honest and Truthful

General Policy

NO ADVERTISEMENT, WHETHER BY INACCURACY, AMBIGUITY, EXAGGERATION, OMISSION OR NEGLECT, SHOULD MISLEAD USERS ABOUT ANY MATTERS LIKELY TO INFLUENCE THEIR ATTITUDE TO THE ADVERTISED PRODUCT.

a) Guarantees and Warranties

If the guarantee/warranty is subject to a limitation (e.g. one year only) the nature of that limitation must be prominent in the advertisement.

b) Testimonials and Endorsements

1. The advertisement must state clearly by whom the endorsement or testimonial has been given.
2. If testimonials or endorsements are made by a named celebrity, then written authority from the celebrity confirming validity must accompany the order.
3. If the Royal Warrant is used then the advertisers certificate authorising use must be produced and a copy must accompany the order.

c) Approvals and Recommendations

The following bodies do not give approvals or recommendations and advertising to this effect is not acceptable:

1. The Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
2. The British Standards Institution (BSI).
1. Only BSI Registered firms are entitled to use the Registered Firm symbol, which must be accompanied by the firm's BSI registration number (beginning with the prefix FM (or RS for registered stockists).
2. Only Kite mark licensees (and customers who have the licensees' permission) are entitled to use the BSI Kite mark which must be accompanied by the licence number (prefixed KM) or licensee name.
   
   NB: The Registered Firm symbol and Kite mark symbol must not appear without a certificate/licence number.
3. The Police.
   
   NB: There must be no recommendations or approvals by the Police in any advertisement for burglar alarms, although in other advertisements terms such as "Police registered", "Police recognised" and "to Police specifications" may be used.
   
   The Police Force must not be identified by name.
4. The Coal Advisory Service
5. British Coal/Solid Fuel
6. The Fire Extinguishing Trades Association (FETA)
7. The Department of Transport (DTp)
   
   NB: The Department of Transport approves individual instructors but not driving schools. Reference to DTp approval in advertisements for driving schools is therefore only permitted:
   1. After the name of the individual DTp approved instructor
      
      OR
   2. In the context of the phrase "DTp approved instructors" - where this applies to all the schools driving instructors.
8. The Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM)
9. The Advanced Driving Instructors (ADI)
10. The Consumers Association
    
    NB: There must be no reference to the Consumers Association or its products in any advertisement. This includes, for example as recommended by "Which?", " Gardening Which?", "Holiday Which?"
11. IIP Logo: Investors In People only permit use of their logo by those advertisers who have obtained accreditation. Proof of this must be provided in the form of:
    1. A bromide of the logo supplied by Investors in People for use by the advertiser
       
       OR
    2. A letter from Investors in People providing consent for the advertiser to use the logo.
12. xii. Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED)
    
    NB: The phrase "OFSTED inspected" may be used but not "OFSTED approved/recommended/accredited."
13. The Chartered Institute of Building do not permit use of the term "Chartered Builder(s)". Use of the approved logo is permitted with the express permission of the institute.

d) Fair Competition

1. Yell competitors' advertising, as any other, will be openly accepted subject to the policies contained in this brochure.
2. Wording is accepted in good faith. However, statements such as "The Best", "The Cheapest" and "The Lowest" are strongly discouraged as they are generally incapable of substantiation. This is because it is possible they may be challenged by other advertisers. If these wordings are included within an advertisement, and in the event of any query, full substantiation will be required.
   
   Such statements are unacceptable within Yellow Pages 18 24 7 service as they may imply recommendation on the part of the operator.
   
   Recently, the ASA upheld a number of complaints about the use of the claims "Lowest Prices Guaranteed and the "Lowest Prices Guarantee" by advertisers in the retail sector, most notably in the flight, holiday and electrical retailers sectors. In the interests of clarity and consumer protection, the ASA has taken the view that there is a distinct difference between a "lowest price guarantee" and a claim that "lowest prices are guaranteed".
3. "Lowest Prices Guaranteed"
   
   This is the strongest possible price claim that an advertiser can make and in order for it to be acceptable, an advertiser must always offer consumers the lowest price regardless of any price promise qualification or the degree of prominence of that qualification.
   
   In theory it is not impossible for an advertiser to make this claim but it can be an extremely difficult claim to prove in practice. In order for the ASA to be satisfied that an advertiser offered the "lowest prices guaranteed" it would involve them carrying out real-time 24 hour monitoring of all their relevant competitors' prices and lowering their prices immediately as soon as those competitors published or announced lower prices.
4. "Lowest Prices Guarantee"
   
   This claim should always be qualified with a price promise that the advertiser will beat, not match, competitors' prices. The terms of the guarantee must be prominent and clearly set out any time limits, restrictions, required proof of lower prices and any other conditions that may apply. It is not necessary for advertisers to carry out constant monitoring of their competitors prices if they intend to be aware of price fluctuations throughout the industry and to adjust their prices or the terms of their guarantee accordingly.
   
   A useful rule of thumb to follow is to determine whether 'guarantee' (or a word or phrase with equivalent meaning, e.g. Assurance, Promise, Pledge, Agreement etc) is being used as a verb or a noun: if a verb ("Lowest Prices Guaranteed", "We guarantee the Lowest Prices") it would require substantiating regardless of whether there is a price promise; if a noun ("We offer a lowest prices guarantee") it is likely to be seen to relate to the price promise and should therefore be qualified.
5. "No Call Out Charge"
   
   The claim "no call out charge" may only appear if the advertiser confirms that the customer pays only for any repair work carried out and will not be charged for travel to the customer's premises or diagnosis of the problem.
   
   The following are not acceptable:
• Statements or illustrations which directly disparage other named advertisers or their products.
• Comparative advertising indirectly questioning the quality, integrity or reputation of other businesses, e.g. "You've tried the cowboys... now try us.", "Beware of Sharks".
• Advertisements that give the impression of being public information or warning notices are not permitted. Headings or text within advertisements such as 'warning' or 'notice' are also not permitted. This is to prevent users of the directory from being misled and to ensure there is no disparagement of other advertisers, either direct or implied.

e) Warnings

Prescribed warnings and other required statements must be included where required by law, i.e. advertisements affected by the Consumer Credit (Advertisement) regulations must include relevant 'Health risk' statements.

f) Prices & Discounts Policy

Customers are advised to consider whether to include time limitations to price offers such as " Valid until ...." or " Correct as at ...." or "Prices correct at time of publication" or similar.

g) CAP

In addition customers are advised that they must adhere to the British Code of Advertising, Sales Promotion and Direct Marketing Practice. In particular, attention should be paid to General Rules on Prices and Sales Promotion Rules. To view the codes click here on www.cap.org.uk and follow the links.

Foreign Advertisements

Foreign language advertisements are not acceptable in this product.

i) Coupons

Coupons are not acceptable.